Press

Brands With Pop Score at Dallas FIG

June 2016

By Holly Haber

DALLAS – Brands with a proven track record and a bit of pizzazz excelled at Fashion Industry Gallery’s three-day show last week.

Holiday items such as tops and dresses with sparkle or shine and cold-shoulder silhouettes did well amid a neutral palette dominated by winter white, gray and black. Clean and high-rise denim, culottes and cuddly soft knitwear were also popular.

About half of the FIG showrooms also were open the prior week in order to coincide with the fashion market at the Dallas Market Center. The two shows normally are concurrent, and buyers and vendors alike bemoaned the inconvenience.

“They’re not going to come twice,” said Gregg Fiene, owner of the Lavender Brown dress firm. “A lot of stores said forget it and they would come back in August.”

FIG retail marketing coordinator Lauren Burgin agreed that the situation was not ideal.

“Hopefully this is the only time we won’t line up with the [Dallas] Market Center,” Burgin said. “When Los Angeles market changed its dates [to overlap Dallas], we had a lot of discussion. Our tenants voted and we decided to move our show.”

“It was a slow market, but June is always slow,” said Jennifer Bishop, co-owner of Three Bishops jewelry collection and a consistent exhibitor in the Shop temporary show.

Several sales representatives said they wound up with decent bookings when the two weeks were combined.

“We were a little worried, but we were up a little bit,” said Renee Halloran, co-owner of Myn showroom. “We had a lot of cold shoulder [styles], and that’s been doing really well. They are definitely staying away from sweaters, especially since we didn’t have a winter last year, and looking for lightweight items.”

“I had a really great show both weeks, so I’m really happy,” said Cassady Hart, regional account executive at Twnz showroom. “A lot of them were looking for great holiday pieces.”

Mark Williams, co-owner of Level Showroom, said, “Everybody is a little nervous about retail sales, but our fall is way up and our holiday is up already.”

Lavender Brown dresses were among his bestsellers, including bohemian printed peasant styles and looks with athletic influences and details such as grommets and sparkle.

Kyla Phung focused on key contemporary labels such as Trina Turk and resort denim for Tootsies stores in Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. She was enthusiastic about cropped flare jeans after a successful test last fall.

“We weren’t sure, but you can wear it with a lot of different shoes, so it ended up being really versatile,” Phung said. “It’s all about the hem detail.”